


thank you for the music

by cassunzxl



Category: The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: apollo and meg superiority, i love apollo so much, no i will not stop crying about his arc, this is just an excuse for me to be soft for him again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:20:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27190318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassunzxl/pseuds/cassunzxl
Summary: Apollo visits Camp Half Blood half a year after the events of TOA.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 70





	thank you for the music

**Author's Note:**

> for courtney <3 thank you for letting me be ceo of apollo with you :) the five hours spent talking about him,,, never forget
> 
> [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8e9VOG1yk8&ab_channel=BuckinghamAlice) reminds me so much of apollo's arc in toa and i thought he'd 100% sing it for the people he's grateful for <3 i initially wanted this fic to just be a small scene of him singing it but i ended up writing more than id expected so i apologise for the incoherency and bad writing!!
> 
> (my knowledge on music theory is not amazing so don't expect any musical descriptions to be extremely accurate,,, i also simply wanted to write a heartfelt reunion for apollo and the others so i don't have an exact explanation for his absence)
> 
> any kind of feedback is appreciated :D

The day had come. Dionysus had kindly sent me written note notifying me of it two days prior: 

_last day of summer at chb, join us if you want to x (bring extra marshmallows)_

How could I refuse? I missed everyone at Camp Half Blood. Although they were supposedly my children and cousins and whatnot, they had treated me with nothing but kindness and patience when I arrived at camp all those months ago. We had seen each other as equals. As friends.

I glanced into a mirror. Why was it there anyway? Was I not always confident in my appearance? I had dressed up in godly (or as Meg would say, ‘goddy’) formalities, as Olympians usually did when they attended events in the mortal world. 

I stared at my reflection. I gave myself a scar on my nose some time after I had reclaimed my immortal form, from when I got stomped on in the Tower of Nero as Lester. I had to wait until the other Olympians forgot about my six-month trials (which unsurprisingly didn’t take very long) so they wouldn’t laugh at me too much. It wasn’t the real thing, but at least it served as a reminder of my time as a human. 

Human. I missed that feeling. I had come to recognise mortality as a gift. 

I decided to change my appearance into Lester Papadopoulos, acne and all. Maybe I cut down a bit on the acne. Ok, I cut down a lot on the acne, but it was there. 

“I missed you,” I spoke to no one in particular.

Why was I so nervous? I’ve been there before. I’ve been there as Lester before. It’s only been half a year. But as I learned, a lot can change in half a year. 

With a deep breath, I transported myself to the mortal world. To Camp Half Blood. 

\------------------ 

“It’s Mr. A!” was the first thing I heard when I arrived. Of _all_ the names someone could have remembered… 

I turned around. “Hey Gracie.” I smiled. 

I heard subsequent yelling about my arrival. My heart fluttered. They were happy to see me, just as I was elated to see them.

I saw Dionysus walking up to me among a crowd of orange t-shirts. “Hello, Brother. I’m glad you came.” I nodded warmly at him. “I hope you’re well.”

“It suppose it could be worse, at least these brats can take care of themselves. I trust you brought the extra marshmallows?” My face fell slightly. I had not. 

I continued to be greeted with enthusiastic shouts from the campers for the next 15 minutes or so. I tried my best to get around to everyone. I spotted a small, buff boy pushing his way through the crowd, face covered with soot and grime. He hugged me around my waist. “Harley!" I lightly patted his wild, dishevelled hair, reminding me of a certain someone I hadn’t seen in the crowd. 

Chiron trotted up to me as the campers left to carry on with their end of summer preparations. “Good to see you here again, Apollo.” he said in earnest. I turned to face him. “Hello, my old friend. Is there any chance you know where Meg is?” 

“She’ll be arriving from Palm Springs soon,” he reassured me. “Do get comfortable with your cabin in the meantime. Your children are dying to see you."

\------------------ 

Around dusk, the campers gradually crowded around the fire as they got ready for perfectly roasted marshmallows and campfire songs. 

“Here, we made you a new combat ukulele,” a voice behind me said. Will came up to me grinning, holding a beautifully carved string instrument, similar to the ones I had lost multiple times during my trials. “Harley helped. He told us to tell you to not lose or break it this time.” 

I held the ukulele gently in my hands, rendered speechless by this act of kindness. A pang of nostalgia hit me as I remembered the many times I had carried the instrument on my back during my various trials, against my oath on the River Styx. I supposed it was strange for a god to feel nostalgic for the recent past, but I knew my experiences as a mortal had been far from strange. “Thank you,” I said in a half whisper. “This is a wonderful gift.”

As more campers rounded the fire, I took a seat between Kayla, Austin, Will and Nico. Will playfully nudged me with his elbow. “You should sing a song for us later, Dad.” His eyes shone with eagerness and encouragement. Me? Sing? Normally I would have been delighted at the notion of singing in front of a crowd, but this was no ordinary crowd. These were people I cared about. I had to make this performance special. I used to draw from unexpected emotions as Lester, exploring human sides of myself I didn’t know were there (except for the time I sang Volare for the ravens, that all came from my throat and raw screaming). But this time I knew I had to make it mean something. I had to sing a song which expressed my true feelings towards everyone seated here. 

“Of course, Will.” I smiled warmly at him. He grinned at me, then turned to Nico. “I told you he’d do it!” Nico tried to look annoyed, but his face was overtaken by a smile. “Well, how was I supposed to know?…” It warmed my heart to see the son of Hades truly happy compared to the last few times I had seen him. He deserved peace after what happened to him in the past four years. 

At that moment, I felt a sharp slap on my shoulder and I turned around. “Ow!” 

Meg was standing there in a pink unicorn t-shirt, washed out jeans and a pair of battered sneakers. Her hair looked short and choppy, as if she tried cutting it by herself. She had grown taller too, as girls her age usually do. I stared at her, marvelling at her arrival. “Meg.”

Kayla shifted across the bench as Meg wedged herself next to me. “Stop staring! The campfire is about to start.” And so fire erupted from the hearth, warmth setting over me like a blanket. Meg grabbed my hand in excitement, beaming at the sight. 

\------------------ 

“Apollo is singing for us today,” Will announced some time into the campfire.

The campers immediately hushed in anticipation. I thanked Will and took in everyone surrounding me. I felt at home again. 

I admittedly was slightly nervous as I slung the ukulele from my back and over my shoulder. Singing as Lester again after so long felt unfamiliar. Foreign, even. I knew my flawless singing voice was back as a god, but having it come out of Lester’s mouth seemed undeserved. 

I plucked the introduction to Thank You for the Music on my new ukulele. When ABBA wrote this song in 1977, I didn’t understand where they were coming from. I granted them their talent for music, who was there to thank other than me? But now as I re-evaluated the lyrics, I realised what they meant. 

Without those around the campfire and countless others, I wouldn’t be here singing today. I was thankful for everything they had given me. The music in me was from them, and for them. 

_“I’m nothing special, in fact I’m a bit of a bore”_

(“Very humble of you, Apollo!” I heard Dionysus shout from a distance. I pointedly ignored him.)

_“If I tell a joke, you’ve probably heard it before"_

I was careful not to let my godly powers manipulate how my voice was being delivered. The song would come from myself, my own genuine emotions. 

_“But I have a talent, a wonderful thing"_

I heard a whoop from Kayla, and Austin shushing her. 

_“Cause everyone listens when I start to sing”_

“Do we?” Meg said with a teasing smirk. There were soft chuckles from other campers. 

“Well, Dear Meg, you’re listening to me right now, aren't you?” I stopped strumming to retort. Fondly, mind you. 

“I suppose…” Meg hummed. “Carry on then!”

And so I did.

_“I’m so grateful and proud_

_All I want is to sing it out loud_

_So I say, thank you for the music_

_The songs I’m singing_

_Thanks for all the joy they’re bringing_

_Who can live without it?_

_I ask in all honesty_

_What would life be?_

_Without a song or a dance, what are we?_

_So I say, thank you for the music_

_For giving it to me”_

As I strummed the final notes of the song, I couldn’t help but feel that there was something I hadn't yet finished. There was something melancholy about the ending, with a sus chord leading up to a dreamlike resolve on a major third. 

The whole camp clapped and cheered nonetheless, having been moved by my performance. Meg looked up at me with a teary eyed smile.

\------------------

“Is it bad that I still feel guilty about, well, everything?” the words tumbled out of my mouth unexpectedly. 

“You should feel guilty,” Meg responded simply. There was silence, and I counted five in my head. “But you’ve changed. That’s what’s most important.” 

_Wise words from Meg McCaffrey_ , I thought. 

“Thank you, Meg. I don’t think I’ve ever said that to you.” 

She punched me lightly in the arm. “Took you long enough,” she said with a slight smirk on her face. She seems to have matured so much during the time I was absent. I had no doubt that Lu was doing a good job raising Meg to be as strong and fierce as her. 

We were sat together at the edge of the woods, around the same spot where Meg and I had conversed properly for the first time after she stopped me from going on a one-man suicide mission for my children. There was an air of comfortable silence around us.

“Pearly’s doing great. She likes swords.” Now Meg was carrying the conversation. Frankly, I just enjoyed her company. I was perfectly content just being next to her. 

“I’m glad to hear you’re still adamant in weaponizing your unicorns,” I joked. She had been documenting her unicorn raising journey in our letters. 

Meg spoke after a few moments of quiet. “I missed you, stupid. We haven’t had our piano lessons yet.” 

A lump formed inside my throat. The resolve. The perfect cadence. 

I slowly pushed myself up, palms digging into the soft grass surrounding us. I stood up and looked at her, arm outreached. 

“Come with me. Do you know the C major scale?"

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! :) <3


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